Pterostilbene (trans-3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxystilbene) is a naturally derived compound found in blueberries. The amount of daily pterostilbene consumption varies according to dietary fruit intake, and it has been estimated that pterostilbene content in blueberry varies from 99 ng to 520 ng/gram depending on the variety of berry ingested. Substantial evidence suggests that pterostilbene may have numerous preventive and therapeutic properties in a vast range of human diseases that include neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and hematologic disorders (D. McCormack and D. McFadden, 2013, A Review of Pterostilbene Antioxidant and Disease Modification, Oxidative Medicine and Cell Longevity, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/575482. Further benefits of pterostilbene have been reported in preclinical trials, in which pterostilbene was shown to be a potent anticancer agent in several malignancies (D. McCormack and D. McFadden, “Pterostilbene and cancer: current review,” Journal of Surgical Research, vol. 173, no. 2, pp. 53-61, 2012). Pterostilbene is structurally similar to resveratrol, a compound found in red wine that has comparable antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic properties; however, pterostilbene exhibits increased absorption due to the presence of two methoxy groups which cause it to exhibit increased lipophilicity and oral bioavailability. In animal studies, pterostilbene was shown to have 80% bioavailability compared to 20% for resveratrol making it potentially advantageous as a therapeutic agent. The multiple benefits of pterostilbene in the treatment and prevention of human disease have been attributed to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic properties leading to improved function of normal cells and inhibition of malignant cell. The evidence reviewed by McCormack and McFadden shows that pterostilbene reduces oxidative stress (OS) and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide anion (O2-), which are implicated in the initiation and pathogenesis of several disease processes. In addition, various cell lines treated with pterostilbene have shown increased expression of the antioxidants catalase, total glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR) and superoxide dismutase (SOD).
Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) is a stilbenoid, a type of natural phenol and a phytoalexin produced naturally by several plants.
That the many observed benefits of pterostilbene ingestion be realized for people, it is necessary that convenient dosage forms be developed. Various beverages are popular with consumers for consumption; sports drinks, vitamin waters, fruit juices, energy drinks, etc. However, the near insolubility of pterostilbene in aqueous solutions precludes the ready incorporation of resveratrol or pterostilbene into these popular beverages.